A 15-year-old boy Toronto boy has died in hospital after he was shot inside a Regent Park high-rise that twice before has been the site of shootings that claimed teenage victims.

The boy was shot a reported four times just before 2 p.m. and his evacuation was severely hindered by the fact that police had placed the building’s elevators on lockdown.

EMS officials confirmed that they were forced to mount 13 flights of stairs to reach the victim and then carry him back down.

The building’s two elevators were operational at the time of the shooting, said Sara Goldvine, a spokeswoman with Toronto Housing, which manages the building.

Darren Calabrese/National Post

However, they were placed “on-service” by the Toronto Fire Department on the orders of police, according to a fire department spokesman.

Such lockdowns are “routine in this type of situation,” said Ms. Goldvine, although police could not confirm before press time the reason for the shutdown.

The boy was taken by ambulance to nearby St. Michael’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

“We don’t know what the motive at this point is,” said Toronto Police spokesman Const. Tony Vella. “We’re investigating that aspect of it.”

The shooting occurred at 605 Whiteside Place, a 14-storey Regent Park condo tower that, in 2010, was the scene of double homicide that claimed teenagers Sealand White and Jermaine Derby.

The pair were shot by a waiting gunman while returning from a party in the building.

The building is near the former site of the Dreamers Peace Garden, a memorial established in 2006 by the mothers of Regent Park shooting victims.

Darren Calabrese/National Post

Darren Calabrese/National Post

National Post, with files from The Canadian Press

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/01/18/teen-dead-after-shooting-at-apartment-in-torontos-regent-park-area/feed/0stdPolice investigate a shooting at 605 Whiteside Place in Toronto's East End that left a 15-year-old boy dead in Toronto Friday, January 18, 2013.Darren Calabrese/National PostDarren Calabrese/National PostDarren Calabrese/National PostFour Toronto students arrested after loaded handgun was found in a knapsackhttp://news.nationalpost.com/2013/01/16/four-toronto-students-arrested-after-loaded-handgun-was-found-in-a-knapsack/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/01/16/four-toronto-students-arrested-after-loaded-handgun-was-found-in-a-knapsack/#commentsWed, 16 Jan 2013 22:35:13 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=252808

TORONTO — Four students are facing charges after a loaded handgun was found in a knapsack at a Scarborough high school.

Toronto police Const. Tony Vella says officers are still investigating, but says possession of a handgun will be one of the charges laid against the students.

Const. Vella says the three boys and a girl are all students at Blessed Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School near Neilson Rd. and McElvin Ave.

A tip to Crime Stoppers led to the arrests just before 2 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon.

“It was a fairly quick procedure, very calm. Classes will not be affected tomorrow,” said John Yan, senior co-ordinator of the Toronto Catholic District School Board. “With a help of a tip, there’s one life saved on the streets of Toronto.”

A ‘hold and secure’ order was issued during the investigation, meaning students remained in class until conditions were deemed safe. The order was later removed.

Toronto police carried out a series of drug raids on Tuesday, wrapping up a months-long project that captured around $2.5-million worth of illegal substances.

The Drug Squad’s Project DOMO executed 29 search warrants and made 22 arrests during the Tuesday raids. The project started investigations in September 2011 in an effort to dismantle “cocaine distribution networks in the Greater Toronto Area.” Among the seizures made during the investigation — which started executing search warrants in February ­— was 10 kilograms of cocaine, marijuana and MDMA, the active ingredient found in ecstasy.

While a separate investigation on Sunday uncovered a bag of labeled “bath salts,” investigators with Project DOMO said the notorious substance was not part of its investigation. Officers also found nine firearms, an extendable baton, $200,000 in cash and over $400,000 worth “of proceeds of crime” during the project.

Although the investigation was part of Toronto Police’s Organized Crime Enforcement department, inspectors said Tuesday that they did not believe the drug network to be involved with a known organized crime ring.

Const. Tony Vella said there were no reported instances of violence or resisting arrest during the execution of the search warrants.

“No drama,” he said.

The project saw investigators search homes and vehicles in February, April, May and twice this month, spanning Toronto, York, Waterloo and Durham regions.

“Most of the activity was here in Toronto” Const. Vella said. “York, Waterloo, and Durham was where some of the accused resided.”

Toronto Police were not releasing the further details of the investigation on Tuesday.
National Post

TORONTO — A former director of an organization outlawed by the Canadian government over its ties to Sri Lankan rebels said Thursday he was living in fear after his car was destroyed in an unexplained fire.

Kamal Navaratnam’s 2002 Honda CRV was parked in his Toronto driveway when it went up in flames at about 3 a.m. Monday.

“The car was completely destroyed,” said Constable Tony Vella, a Toronto police spokesman. The cause of the fire was listed as undetermined. “Officers are looking into it but foul play is not suspected at this point.”

But Mr. Navaratnam said his life had been threatened twice over his weekly newspaper, Canada Ulahathamilar, and its stance on Sri Lankan issues. He speculated Sri Lankan government agents might have been behind the fire. “But I don’t really know,” he said.

The fire may have been started using a piece of wood he found under the passenger side of the car, he said, although there was no mention of it in the police or fire reports. “I am scared, my wife is scared.”

‘I am scared, my wife is scared’

He said the incident could also be linked to his role in the World Tamil Movement, a Toronto-based group that was investigated by the RCMP over its financing of the Tamil Tigers rebels — an allegation the group denies.

An RCMP affidavit alleged Mr. Navaratnam was involved in “terrorist fundraising activities.” It said he was a signatory of several WTM bank accounts that were used to raise money in Canada. The WTM sent millions overseas, mostly to rebel-controlled accounts, police alleged.

Mr. Navaratnam was also named as the “key organizer” of a 2006 event in Mississauga, Ont., where the militaristic Tamil Tigers flag was raised and a 50-minute speech by the rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was broadcast.

Aaron Lynett / National Post

When the RCMP raided the WTM headquarters in Toronto in 2006, officers found rebel propaganda, details of fundraising campaigns and a list of military items needed by the rebels, such as anti-aircraft missiles and artillery. “With this in mind, please speed-up and undertake your fundraising initiatives,” it read.

The federal government added the WTM to its list of designated terrorist organizations in 2008, and last year, the Federal Court of Canada ordered the group to forfeit its property to the government. The WTM is now defunct, as are the Tamil Tigers, also known by the acronym LTTE.

“The leadership of the WTM acts at the direction of the LTTE and has been instrumental in fundraising in Canada on behalf of the LTTE,” reads the group’s profile on the Public Safety Canada website. “WTM representatives canvass for donations amongst the Canadian Tamil population, and have been involved in acts of intimidation and extortion to secure funds.”

‘I was one of the directors of the World Tamil Movement, that’s true, but I never fundraised’

Mr. Navaratnam said he had quit the WTM and denied any involvement in fundraising. “I never do that. I was one of the directors of the World Tamil Movement, that’s true, but I never fundraised,” Mr. Navaratnam said. “I was in the newspaper department.” He said he was only a signatory to the accounts because he was on the board of directors. “But I don’t do that fundraising,” he said. He was never charged with terrorist fundraising.

The Tamil Tigers, which fought a 25-year war for independence for Sri Lanka’s ethnic Tamil minority, were defeated by government forces in 2009. Since then, divisions have emerged within Canada’s large Sri Lankan community over whether to continue to advocate for Tamil independence.

Toronto Police have seized tampering devices from ATMs at eight different Toronto-area hospitals over the last six months. The hospitals are being targeted due to the high-volume of traffic, said Const. Tony Vella.

“It’s quite aggravating because they are targeting hospitals,” he said. “But the objective here is to make money.”

There are no suspects yet, but Const. Vella said video surveillance is being reviewed.

The perpetrators had installed card readers and a pin-hole camera to access bank information, leading to the production of counterfeit debit and credit cards.

“It only takes a few seconds to install,” said Const. Vella. “One person blocks the view and the other person installs it.”

If you suspect a teller machine may be fraudulent, Const. Vella said, give it a tug. “The fake ones will pop right out.”

A woman who was arrested in Victoria Thursday, 18 years after being accused of fleeing a Toronto custody order with her baby daughter, is expected to arrive back in Ontario by Saturday to answer to an abduction charge.

Patricia O’Byrne, 54, was locked in a custody battle with the father of their 20-month-old daughter in May 1993, when O’Byrne allegedly fled with the child. An arrest warrant was issued in June 1993.

Toronto police Const. Tony Vella said Friday that O’Byrne, who had been using an alias, was arrested at a home in Victoria by local police. She is scheduled to appear in court in Toronto on Monday on a charge of abduction in contravention of a custody order.

“It was a very successful investigation and there are many parties and agencies involved,” Vella said Friday. It was excellent work by members of the public and (police and missing child advocacy groups) . . . as a result, the woman was located and is being brought back to Toronto to answer to the charge and the father’s child has been located.”

Police would not divulge the alias O’Byrne was using. It was unclear whether her daughter was also going by a false name or whether multiple aliases were used. It was also not clear what sort of life or career O’Byrne had established in Victoria.

For the last 18 years, police and children’s advocacy groups followed up on numerous tips as to the whereabouts of O’Byrne and her daughter.

Police were led to O’Byrne’s residence in Victoria after a tip, filed in September 2011, was received by the Missing Children Society of Canada. The tipster believed O’Byrne was living on Vancouver Island.

Vella said the abducted girl, who is now a 20-year-old woman, has been in touch with the appropriate support groups.

“The Canadian Centre for Child Protection and Missing Kids has met with her and are continuing support for her,” Vella said.

Yellow police tape cordoned off a section of City Hall Friday afternoon after a man in forties was apparently stabbed with a pair of scissors in the library.

Police arrested a 22-year-old suspect a short time later at Queen Street and University Avenue.

Constable Tony Vella, with Toronto police, said the victim was injured in the neck and chest, but that it did not appear to be life threatening. The man was awake when paramedics took him out of the building in a stretcher, leaving a trail of blood splatters behind.

Investigators were working to ascertain what provoked the attack, said Const. Vella.

The library, meanwhile, appeared to continue operating normally, with people perusing books and typing on computers, until it was evacuated some 40 minutes after the attack.

Eileen Cruise was reading at one end of the library when she heard a commotion at the other, by a bank of computers near the entrance. It was about 3 p.m., she said.

“Someone started screaming epitaphs and attacking somebody physically,” she said. She saw what looked like punching but did not see a weapon. “The person who seemed to be doing it all was a small person, I wasn’t sure if it was a young guy or a woman to tell you the truth because the high pitch kinda sounds could have been a young guy and I didn’t really want to know about it,” said Ms. Cruise.

Lloyd Mangal said he also saw someone punching another person while inside the library. “I live in a shelter so that’s a common occurrence,” he said. Mr. Mangal got an account of what happened from another man, who was apparently standing close by. Mr. Mangal’s friend said one man had been “antagonizing” another man seated at a computer with “sarcastic remarks like ‘you finished, you finished, you finished?'”

A library official confirmed that the incident happened in the vicinity of the computer bank, and police had cordoned off the area around it as a crime scene.

Gus Galanis, who works in the city’s clerks departments, was watching crews put lights on the giant Christmas tree in Nathan Phillips Square when he heard of the stabbing. He rushed inside and saw emergency workers treating the man in the corridor on a wound that was in the neck area. He said the victim looked “casual”.

“Until they took his shirt I didn’t see any blood at all. Until they took his shirt off, and blood was dripping down his chest,” said Mr. Galanis. The Toronto Public Library rents space at City Hall. Anne-Marie Aikins a spokeswoman for the Toronto Public Library, said the entire system had 18-million visitors last year. “We deal with all kinds of people and serious incidents can happen,” she said.

Toronto Police have located a 14-year-old Toronto boy who was the subject of a widespread search Wednesday after he failed to return home from school the day before.

Stephen Liu, who reportedly has autism, had last been seen leaving Zion Heights Junior High School on Leslie St., north of Finch Ave. Tuesday afternoon. His disappearance led police to launch a level 3 search, the highest level of search by Toronto Police. A level 3 search mobilizes officers from a number of stations to help with the effort.

Stephen was reportedly found in the Brimley Road and Sheppard Avenue area of Scarborough.

While police would not confirm whether Stephen is autistic, they did say existing health conditions had elevated their level of concern.

“I can say there are health concerns and we are concerned for his well-being,” said Toronto Police Const. Tony Vella earlier in the day.

Toronto Police are searching for a suspect driving a white or grey vehicle after shots were fired at a car near the CNE grounds early Tuesday morning.

Police responded to a call reporting a shooting in the Lake Shore Boulevard West and British Columbia Drive area shortly after 4:30 a.m.

That’s where officers found an abandoned black four-door Lexus with a number of bullet holes in the side of the car and bloodstains inside, Constable Tony Vella said. The driver’s side window of the bullet-riddled car had been shattered, though it was still intact, the front bumper had come off, and the front-left tire was flat when police discovered it.

Lake Shore Boulevard remained closed between Newfoundland Road and Jameson Avenue for most of the day while the police conducted their investigation.

Police began searching for the registered owner of the abandoned vehicle. It was not immediately clear if the driver had been traveling alone, or who was injured in the shooting, Const. Vella said.

The occupant fled the scene on foot, but returned later in the day, and was transported to a local hospital with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries, police said. The altercation took place between the occupant of the Lexus and the occupant of the white or grey vehicle.

The suspect fled the scene and police are requesting the public’s assistance locating the vehicle.

“We’re still trying to figure out who’s responsible,” Const. Vella said. Police do not have a clear motive for the shooting, he said.

A man has been charged with first-degree murder in what is Toronto’s 24th homicide of the year. Fayad Shamir Moursalien, 26, was arrested Tuesday morning at a house in London, Ont.

“Fayad lives in London, he was arrested there with the help of the London police,” said Toronto Police Constable Tony Vella.

Police responded to a call last Thursday 2901 Jane St. in Toronto, where a crowd of more than 40 people had gathered around a man suffering from gunshot wounds. Andrew Stewart, 26, was rushed to hospital where he later died from the injuries. A suspect fled the scene in a vehicle.

Mr. Moursalien is scheduled to appear in a Toronto court on Wednesday.

Toronto police have issued an arrest warrant for a rapper who, through his music online, has pleaded his innocence in the shooting death of a 16-year-old boy more than three years ago.

Pierre Oliver Ellis, 23, is wanted for first-degree murder in the shooting of Keyon Campbell on Dec. 2, 2007.

The victim was found wounded inside his east-end Toronto townhouse around 1:30 a.m. that day, after going outside to start the car for his mother. He was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Mr. Ellis is a rapper who goes by the name Capitol P. A video of his, which has been posted on YouTube since August 2009, features Mr. Ellis rapping a song in which he denies his guilt in Keyon Campbell’s murder.

The song is entitled Letter 2 Da Vern (RIP Ace), the title of which uses references his neighbourhood of Malvern and “Ace,” which was the victim’s nickname.

The song includes lyrics such as, “In ‘07, my little n—– dropped out. Ace, the young gun, I treated better than by brother.”

In another verse, he raps, “I loved the young n—–, plus I never pushed the trig back,” at which point he makes a gun gesture with his hand.

Const. Tony Vella would not comment Wednesday on the video or whether it was among the evidence used when deciding to issue a warrant for Mr. Ellis.

He is believed to still be in the Toronto area and “armed and dangerous,” according to police. Mr. Ellis is described as black, five-foot-nine with a medium build.

“We’re appealing to him to contact a lawyer and turn himself in,” Const. Vella said. “Eventually, he’s going to be arrested.”

Const. Vella said Mr. Ellis is the first and only suspect in this case.

The suspect wanted for allegedly assaulting a five-month-old boy is now wanted on a Canada-wide warrant.

Ronnie Munoz-Hernandez, 21, has fled the Toronto area and is believed to be travelling towards the Quebec/U.S. border, “although he could be anywhere,” said Toronto Police Constable Tony Vella.

Mr. Munoz-Hernandez is wanted for aggravated assault. He held “exclusive guardianship” over the child at the time of the incident. Constable Vella could not say how the infant came to be in the suspect’s care.

The baby was brought to Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children on Sunday, Sept. 12, 2010 where staff called police when it appeared the injuries were “non-accidental.”

The child is still in hospital in critical condition and sustained severe injuries including trauma to his body, said Constable Vella.